Health, fitness, makeup and beauty in your 30s+

Why makeup?

How I got interested in makeup & Makeup artistry

Homecoming when I was 15

I have been interested in makeup and beauty for as long as I can remember. It’s funny because my mom never wears makeup and didn’t when my younger sister and I were growing up, but for some reason we were interested in style. We subscribed to Vogue, Glamour, Cosmopolitan (probably we were too young for that!) and other magazines like Seventeen and “Jane.” My mom tried to discourage us from growing up too fast but I remember beginning her to let me shave my legs. In high school I dyed my hair green, blonde, purple, and red with black streaks. My style morphed into more of a goth/emo look. I didn’t know a lot about makeup and I only worse drug store makeup and tended to only ever do a smokey eye. I hardly ever wore mascara and I didn’t even start shaping my brows until I was in my late 20s!

It was aging that sparked my interest in high end makeup

I wore CoverGirl Clean Makeup for most of my life! My sister always lived in bigger cities than I did and it was her that introduced me to Sephora and then Ulta. I bought one lipstick the very first time I went to a MAC store, it was all I could afford, and it was a very deep, dark red. I don’t remember the name of it. I liked Sephora but I never felt like makeup was something that warranted the high prices. Around the age of 28 or so, I decided that I wanted to start concealing the really dark circles that I have naturally under my eyes. That’s when I started to learn more about makeup. Then, when I was 32, I was laid off from my job. Even though it was not personal, other people were laid off too due to a loss of grant funding at the nonprofit where I worked, it definitely was a blow to my self esteem. So it’s really only been the last four years that I have been super into makeup.

Going through a hard time, makeup was my escape and comfort

For me, makeup was a way to express my creativity and feel better about myself during a time that was a blow to my self-esteem. As I began to learn more about it, it became a bigger and bigger part of my life. In a good way! I love that makeup allows us to highlight parts of our features that we like, downplay ones that we don’t, but always encourages us to show ourselves to the world. I don’t see makeup as a mask or camouflage, I see it as creative expression with the ultimate canvas – our body! Just like my tattoos, makeup is a way of expressing myself. I love learning about it and talking about it, so that’s why I decided to start a YouTube channel in March 2017, so that I could share my passion for beauty and makeup with the world!th and largest tattoo, a half-sleeve based on images from the Japanese garden in the Portland, OR Botanical Gardens. Tattoo by Iron Mike at Electric Dagger Tattoo, Jackson MS.

Makeup brings people together

I have met so many wonderful people in the online makeup community! It is overwhelmingly an encouraging and supportive place. I have been blown away by all of the love that people share with each other. I have heard from so many people that they also found makeup during times when they were struggling with depression, or grief, or loss. I’m constantly inspired by all of the talented people on Instagram and I feel blessed that I have gotten to be a part of this community in my own small way.